Model Child
by kipler
Summary: Don't get it wrong, Petunia Evans loves her sister. What she hates is the way perfect little Lily makes her feel. She's horribly jealous even if she wont admit it. This only gets worse when Lily gets scouted as a model and Petunia doesn't.


**AN: Hey guys, this is just a little something I've been working on for a while. I got the idea a couple months ago, and I've been working on it on and off since then. I really wanted to publish something today, considering february 29th doesnt happen very often, and this was my favorite of my stories that I have, so here it is! Its basically about Lily being scouted my one of those modeling agents/scammer people, and Petunia being jealous as usual. I hope you enjoy it!**

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><p>When people asked, Petunia Evans always told them that fall was her favorite season, but she never told them why. She always made up all sorts of bull-crap excuses about how she thought the leaves were pretty, and the weather was the perfect mix of hot and cold. But really, she hated the colors orange and yellow, and she much prefered hot, skin-baking weather that stopped her skin from looking all pale and pasty. None of those excuses she gave were even remotely true.<p>

The real reason she liked fall was because it was the one season without Lily.

In the winter, Lily spent two weeks at home for Christmas. Then in spring, she was back for another two weeks during Easter. And then, even though Petunia loved the weather, summer was her least favorite season because her horrible sister spent a whole six weeks with her. But fall, Lily spent the whole, wonderful season away at her freaky little school.

Lily. Lily, Lily, Lily. It was always Lily! She was their parents youngest daughter, the apple of their eyes. She was the smart one, getting strait A's while Petunia got B's. She was the social one, and even though she didn't have very many friends at school because of the weird things that happened around her, she was always so polite, and could hold a conversation with any of their parent's adult friends. Petunia though she was popular, was always grumpy and snooty around other adults. Lily was the pretty one too, she had pale, glowing skin, dark red hair, and bright green eyes that were always full of emotion. Petunia on the other hand, had sickly pale skin, stringy blond hair, and pale brown eyes that had about as much depth as a piece of paper. Then as if that wasn't enough, it turned out that Lily was the magical one too. So, that was why Lily was off at her freaky magical boarding school. It was called Hogwarts, though Petunia really didn't like to think the name. Lily got to go live with just her freaky friends, in a beautiful castle (yes, a castle!), where she learned magic instead of math.

Now, it wasn't that Petunia completely hated her sister. You can't help but love your family. What Petunia _did _hate was the way she always felt around Lily. Lily could do everything better. Lily simply _was _better. So Petunia was jealous. Horribly jealous. You'd never catch her saying that, but there was no doubt she was. After all, who wouldn't be? While Petunia was in chemistry, Lily was brewing up some sort of fantastical potion in her potions lesson. While Petunia learned about various religious wars and the rise of democracy, Lily was learning about goblin rebellions and giant wars in History of Magic. Petunia wished so much she could take her place, even if Lily said that History of Magic was the most boring class she had ever taken. Lily was merely fourteen years old, and had only just completed her third year of freak school. She had never had to and never would sit through a fifth-year algebra class. When Lily was gone, Petunia could pretend that _she _was for once, the best. She never stopped being jealous though, and it was in those first few months when Lily was in school, that Petunia discovered how much easier it is to hate than to admit jealousy. Deep down though, she knew the horrible truth, that she could mask it for as long as she wanted, but she was _always _going to be jealous.

Petunia threw down her pencil in frustration. Algebra just made no sense to her! She dropped her face into her hands and remembered the days when she would have gone to Lily for help. Even though she was younger, she could always figure out all of Petunia's work. For a brief moment she considered actually going to Lily for help, but quickly dropped it from her mind. Lily hadn't been taking normal math classes for three years, she wouldn't know this stuff.

She sighed and got up from her bed. She grabbed the worksheet and her pencil, planning to go get help from her dad. On the way to get downstairs though, she had to pass Lily's room. The door was open, and sounds of quiet humming leaked out, Petunia risked a peek in. Lily was lying on her stomach on her bed, feet up in the air while she used a feather to write something on a large piece of thick, yellow paper. She was wearing a pair of black athletic shorts that showed off her perfect legs, a white V-neck t-shirt, and her dark red hair was up in a casual, messy bun. Petunia felt a pang of jealousy. Lily was so beautiful! Even though it was only the beginning of summer, he legs were already fairly tan. Petunia remembered how she always talked about lounging by the lake with her friends during free time, and so she assumed that was where Lily got such healthy looking skin.

Petunia must not have been as careful as she thought, because without looking up from her textbook, Lily said, "Hi Tuney."

"Petunia!" She shot back quickly. "My name, is _Petunia!_"

"Hi Petunia." Lily repeated.

Now that she was discovered, Petunia decided that she might as well. "I need help with my maths," she said, walking into the room.

Lily finished the sentence she was writing, then put the parchment, ink, and quill on top of her book and pushed it aside. "Alright. I was just doing a potions essay. How can I help you?"

Petunia jabbed her finger at a complicated equation near the top of the page. "I've solved it several times, but each time the _x _value just doesn't make any sense!"

Lily stared at the problem for about ten seconds. "Ah." She figured it out. "I see what you did. That exponent is outside the parentheses, so you have to raise the whole thing to the fourth, not just _x._"

"Oh." Petunia said simply, feeling rather stupid." "I see it. Thanks."

"Anytime." Lily pulled her essay back towards her and began to work again.

"How did you know?" Petunia blurted out.

Lily looked up. "Know what?"

"You haven't taken _normal _math for years, but you still knew how to do my homework!"

Lily thought for a moment. "Well, I took math long enough to know the basics, and once you know those, you can pretty much figure out any math. Besides, I always liked math anyway, so I started taking Arithmancy at school this year. It's the closest thing to math we have, so it's not like I've had no contact with numbers for the past three years."

Petunia didn't know what to say. "Oh." She walked out of the room.

Back in her room, she flopped down onto the bed and stared up at the ceiling. She exhaled heavily. She loved it when Lily talked about her school. In those few moments, she could easily throw herself into her fantasy world. Lily painted beautiful masterpieces with her words, and Petunia got to be a part of it. But after Lily finished her story, that was honestly the worst part of every summer. The part when over and over again, she had to realize that she could _never _be part of Lily's world, and that everything she ever wanted was impossible. All through the year this happened. Every time one of Lily's letters came Petunia read it eagerly, living her fantasy for a few moments until he had to realize it was only just a dream. It was never quite as bad as when Lily was actually there though. Lily's world was never quite as real when it was written down. Now, she could actually see Lily's stunning face light up at a fond memory, or hear her laugh as she recalled a joke her friend had told. But worst of all, she could see her parents face shining with pride and love at their youngest daughter, just because she had magical powers that their eldest daughter did not have.

Petunia remembered when the Evans had been a notoriously happy and bonded family. Magic had ruined that reputation. Now, it seemed like it was the three Evans, plus Petunia. Even though she was the oldest, she was the one left standing on the sidelines.

Petunia wasn't aware of how long she lay there. Time was meaningless to her. Suddenly, her mother was standing in the doorway.

"Come on, get up Petunia. We're going out," She told her.

Petunia sat up. "Where?"

"I thought it would be fun to go to that carnival they're having a few towns over. You know, as a family, since we're not all together that often."

"Fine." Petunia sighed as she flopped back down on her bed. A family outing. Great. That was just what she needed right now. She already knew how it would go. As soon as they stepped out of the car, everyone would be openly gaping at Lily, and everyone would pretend not to notice. Lily would talk a mile a minute about something to do with her freak school, while Petunia and her parents listened intently. After the topic changed, Petunia would fall behind them all, arms crossed while she dealt with the pain, but no one would bother to notice.

Sighing again, she rolled out of bed and headed to the bathroom to take a shower. When she came back into her room, she realized that the clothes she had thrown on for breakfast this morning simply wouldn't do. She would never be caught dead in the cotton shorts and flowered t-shirt she was wearing. For once, she wanted people to stare at her, not Lily. She wanted them to look and say, _Oh look! That girl can't be over fifteen, but she is so mature! Just look how pretty she is!_ When she was around her friends, she tended to dress proactively, wearing clothes that her mother would have never let her leave the house in if she had known, but the truth was that she wanted to seem dignified, like a high society socialite.

Finally, she decided on a tight pale pink blouse with darker pink polka dots, and a mid-thigh length white skirt made of heavy, swishy fabric. She also had on white sandals with respectable two-inch heels, and a pair of tiny pink flowers dangled from her ears. Her hair was down, and curled to slightly wavy perfection, around her face, which she had decorated with pink lipstick and pink eye shadow behind her eyelashes made long and dark by high-end mascara. Her final touch was a large, floppy straw hat on her head, to make it look like she was intentionally as pale as she was.

Feeling rather proud of her outfit, she headed down stairs to where her family was waiting. Her mother was dressed in a similar dignified style, but Petunia's confidence faltered a little bit when she saw Lily, as always.

Her outfit really wasn't much. Honestly, it was something that Petunia would never have been caught dead in, but Lily made it look like it was strait off a runway in Paris. She had on a pair of hideous brown leather sandals that were clearly meant for people over fifty, but Lily loved them anyway because she said they were comfortable and practical. Above that, she had on a short-ish denim skirt, and an off-white scoop-neck t-shirt. In the middle were various colorful flowers, formed into a heart shape. Her hair was up in a bun again, and she didn't seem to be wearing any make up at all. But of course, gorgeous little Lily didn't need any.

Petunia realized she was staring, but Lily was staring right back.

"Alright! Now that you're here, Petunia, we can go!" Laurie Evans was cheerful despite the tension.

They all piled into the family car. Since both parents were there, both the girls had to sit in the back seat. Petunia hated that. It was so degrading. And also, she hated having to be so close to Lily for the car ride. Her head told her that was because she was worried her freakiness would rub off on her, but her heart told her that was not the case.

Lily was jabbering away, as usual, and they hadn't even started driving yet!

"It's so weird to be in a car! All during school, the only vehicle I'm in is the train that takes me to and from school. We go everywhere else on foot, because when we leave the grounds, the only place we can go is Hogsmeade. It's only about a twenty minute walk or so. But we're all used to walks because it takes about 10 minutes to get from one end of the school from the other, and all the staircases make it feel doubled. Of course, James Potter and his minions know all these secret passages that can get them anywhere in a fraction of the time us less troublesome people to get places. One minute their walking next to me, refusing to go away, and then they turn off through a door you didn't know was there and when you get to class, they've been there for five minutes!"

Petunia tuned out Lily's babbling. It was probably better that way. She stared out the window at the country side the rest of the way to the carnival.

They parked on a field of yellow grass that had temporarily been converted to a parking lot. It was no surprise when they had a hard time finding a spot. They had expected it to be crowded. People milled about aimlessly, mostly families with young children, but a few children Petunia or Lily's age were there. People walked between the shows holding large tufts of candy floss, but the majority of people were gathered in large circles around performers: Acrobats, lion tamers, flame throwers, and a couple stages were set up around the edges of the field for theatrical performances. Right at the edge of the parking area, Petunia couldn't help but notice a flimsy little pen that had been set up. A crusty looking man sat in a folding chair outside the white-wire prison, collecting money from parents, and occasionally throwing a carrot in to one of the many fat, white bunny rabbits, apathetic old goats, or terrified looking chickens. A few children were in there as well, violently petting the animals, or trying to catch an evasive rooster. Petunia shuddered.

The Evans's started to walk around.

"Well? Where should we go first?" asked Laurie Evans.

A collective _ohhhh_ rose up from a crowd in front of them as as a large ball of fire flew into the air.

"There!" Lily said pointing to it. "I wonder what they're doing! That sort of reminded me of the time that Peter got his spell wrong in charms and the frog he was trying to mature exploded!"

Petunia harrumphed. Nothing ever exploded at her school. The worst thing that people ever got in trouble for was writing rude words on the bathroom walls.

Petunia crossed her arms as she stared at the back of the man in front of her. She hated crowded places. It wasn't productive for anyone. Even her father, Daniel Evans, who was almost six and a half feet tall couldn't see much.

Lily sighed. "I can't see anything." She stated the obvious.

"Want a boost?" Daniel Evans bent down so Lily could climb onto his back.

She grinned a perfect grin. "Thanks Daddy!"

Here was another thing to show that Lily was her parents clear favorite. As soon as Lily had been born, Petunia had been deemed too big to pick up anymore. She was only two at the time, but still, at age thirteen, Lily still got to ride on her dad's back. Petunia stood solemnly next to her mother, staring at nothing.

Time wore on slowly. The Evans's followed Lily wherever it was she wanted to go. Eventually, they saw almost everything, had sampled almost every junk food that was for sale, played every one of those rigged games, and at every one of those places, everyone had taken immediate notice of Lily. Girls their own age had stared at her jealously out of their peripheral vision, boys hadn't even tried to hide their gaping. Sweet elderly ladies had come up to her and complimented her on her incredible hair, and even when creepy old men leered their gums at her, the Evans's still just pretended not to notice, but walked away rather more quickly than the normally would have.

However, not one person took more than a glance at Petunia.

Finally, darkness started to fall, and the crowds began to pack up and leave.

"Lily, dear," Laurie Evans said, putting her hand on the small of her youngest daughter's back, "I think that we should be going soon. We've seen everything there is to see, and the fair will be closing soon."

"Alright. I had such a wonderful time today." Lily was suck a suck up, but both her parents smiled down at her with so much love Petunia felt sick.

They headed back toward their car, while the whole time, Lily talked non-stop about something or other. She didn't stop talking until someone patted Daniel Evans on the shoulder, and he stopped and turned to see who it was.

A handsome man, with salt and pepper hair stood behind him, wearing a respectable white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up, tucked into khaki pants, and a brown leather belt. Holding a clipboard with some sort of form on it, he looked rather dignified, but there was something that Petunia couldn't really place that made her know not to trust him.

"Excuse me, I'm sorry to bother you, but I was just standing by my tent," he pointed back toward a white canopy with the words _Central Britain Modeling Agents _written in dark blue on the front. "And when you walked by, I just couldn't help but notice you, young lady. What's your name?" He smiled a bright white smile down at Lily.

"Uh… Lily…." She looked uneasy.

"It is such a pleasure to meet you Lily!" He grabbed her hand and shook it vigorously. Lily looked up at her parents questioningly.

"My name is Robert Rosen, but you can call me Bob." He paused to smile again, then went on. "The moment I first saw you a minute ago, I knew immediately you were meant to be a model. I mean, just look at you! So few girls have hair the color of yours, and it's never ever as nice as yours. But the ones that do like to see clothes on models that look vaguely like them. But of course you are ten times more gorgeous than any of them. With the right agent, you would be landing jobs left and right, all year round. My company would be simply delighted to provide you with that service."

"Er—I'm sorry, but I really don't want to be a model—" Bob cut Lily off.

"Oh nonsense!" He waved his hand in the air. "Every girl wants to be a model! So many girls will never be able to be featured on magazine covers that desperately want to! You have no idea how blessed you are!"

"I really don't think—" Lily was once again interrupted.

"I promise you. This wouldn't be a one time thing. In the spring, I can already see you posing among the flowers. For summer, I can see you running along the beach in a swimsuit, your flaming hair flying. In fall, you would look simply fierce in jeans, modeling heavier jackets, and you are the only girl I have seen today who would be able to pull off a snow-wear shoot in the winter." He painted a picture with his words that was so real that everyone was quiet for a moment, just imagining.

But then Lily said, "I'm sorry. I live at school all year. That wouldn't work."

"I'm sure your school would understand."

"No, I don't think they would. And I'm very sorry, but I've never ever had any desire to be a model, and I don't think it's going to start now."

"Are you sure? Looking like you do, you have such a future! Modeling pays incredibly well!"

"I don't want—"

"Of course you—" Now it was Bob's turn to get interrupted.

"_She said she doesn't want to be a model!" _Daniel Evans stared Bob Rosen down. His smile faltered.

"Yes, I know. But I don't think you fully understand the amazing opportunity I'm offering you. Here, take my card, and please consider it. I promise you, you'll have no regrets. Don't hesitate to give me a call." Robert Rosen finally decided it would be a good idea to leave. He turned on his heel and disappeared into the crowd.

Daniel Evans put his hand on Lily's shoulder as they started to walk again, a gesture that might have looked loving, but was clearly meant to be protective against anymore strange people who might want to talk to them. Laurie Evans walked on his other side, forming a complete loving family. But, once again, Petunia was out of the picture.

In the car, no one said anything about the little encounter. Like always, no one ever acknowledged the strange or bad things that happened. So why was Lily the favorite? She was both strange and bad for the whole family, the way she was pulling them apart! Petunia was indignant. _She _was the normal child. _She_ would be the one to make it in life. _She _would be the one with a nice, perfect family, but no matter what she did, it wouldn't be good enough because Lily would always do better in her parents eyes.

No one should have more than one child, she thought. Everyone should just have one, perfect child to love with all their heart. And even if they weren't absolutely perfect, there would be no one to be compared to. Siblings were just an overall bad idea.

In that moment, Petunia wished on all the anger, and jealousy, and sadness she had felt because of Lily, that her sister had never been born. She would do anything to be an only child. Her dreams of joining Lily at that _bloody _school were done. She knew now that they were impossible, but it was much easier to grant this wish.

Sure, they had the same parents. Sure, they lived in the same house and had the same last name. Sure, they were biological sisters, but sisters have to be more than that. Sisters have to be friends, and to be friends, one can't make the other feel like crap. And from that moment on, Petunia vowed that her child would have everything. Not just everything she never had, but everything they could ever want and more. But especially, her child would be happy, and as her life showed, no one can be happy with a witch around.

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><p><strong>A<strong>**N: Thanks so much for reading! Please leave a review if you could! That would make me super happy! :)**


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